PNP probes policemen caught on video gunning down 3 unarmed men

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is investigating its own men who were caught on video shooting dead three unarmed victims, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said on Tuesday.

Secretary Harry Roque was referring to a Reuters report, which showed at least 11 policemen — some in uniform and others in shorts and slippers — gun down the three who were chatting at lunch time in Barangay 19, Tondo, Manila.

Based on CCTV footage obtained by Reuters, it took the policemen 25 minutes to kill the three unarmed men, as even one of the suspects adjusted the view of one CCTV camera away from the scene, unaware that there were others in place. The policemen were also seen carrying the dead bodies away from the crime scene.

“The police is in the process of looking into this; authenticating the video. [Rest assured] the President will not tolerate the abuses committed by some personnel of the PNP. The administration does not tolerate police violence, police brutality or police killing,” Roque told reporters.

Roque then again cited the President’s pronouncements that he would not treat murderous policemen with kid gloves — a position taken by the President when three teenagers, Kian delos Santos, Carl Arnaiz and Reynaldo delos Santos were killed separately in an anti-drug operation conducted by Caloocan City police.

The body of 14-year-old de Guzman were found floating in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija. It was later learned that de Guzman suffered 30 stab wounds, his head wrapped in packaging tape and mouth gagged.

Arnaiz’s body showed signs of torture.

While police alleged that de los Santos was a drug trafficker, CCTV video of the crime scene showed the teen being dragged by the Caloocan City police in a dark alley.

The teen killings prompted President Duterte to pull out the PNP from the drug war and placed the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in charge.

Roque urged the victims’ families to file a complaint.

“We need to have a complaint [filed],” Roque, a lawyer, said.

Human rights organizations based here and abroad have continuously raised the alarm on the spate of drug-related killings under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. LLANESCA T. PANTI